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shavuot

The matzoh layers are soaked in coffee and though softened, they dry out when chilled and hold the dessert together. The first version of the recipe was made in a loaf pan and served ten but I quickly realized that on Passover, the crowds are bigger. To serve ten, just halve the recipe and prepare in a 12-inch loaf pan.

This is the easiest cookie you will ever bake. It is made as one large cookie that you cut after baking. Sablé means sandblasted, which describes the grainy texture of these cookies perfectly. I saw cookies like these during my travels around Brittany in the northwest region of France, where they use enormous amounts of butter in everything they bake. For a Sephardic twist, I like to add orange blossom water to this parve version of the famous French cookie.

The bris (circumcision) of my twins, Jake and Joey, was rather hectic. After Jake's turn, I was instructed by the mohel to take him upstairs and comfort him. That meant that I completely missed Joey's turn. I was starving and remembered that my friend Trudy Jacobson had brought me her challah. It has a unique sweetness from the honey, a very soft texture from the margarine, and I think the saffron performs some other magic to create a very tasty challah. The rising times are longer that my classic challah, but worth the time.

Noodle kugels, or baked puddings, abound in Ashkenazic Jewish cookery, and this particular version makes an outstanding dessert or brunch dish. You'll find that the mild sweetness of coarsely grated Gala apples perks up the hearty richness.

The difference between fresh and commercially prepared ricotta is proven dramatically with this cheesecake. Made with the commercial product, it tastes bland and somewhat grainy. When prepared with fresh ricotta, however, the cake dissolves creamily on the tongue and the ricotta's delicate sweetness shines through clean and true. To further emphasize the ricotta, we keep the other flavors to a minimum—just a smidgen of cinnamon, lemon zest, and vanilla is all you need.

Anne Whiteman was the mother of Michael Whiteman, a Brooklyn native and the business and creative partner of the legendary Joe Baum in designing and operating many restaurant projects, among them the food services of the World Trade Center, including Windows on the World, and the restoration and operation of the Rainbow Room.
If this is the kind of food Michael grew up eating, then it's no wonder his palate is so finely tuned. This recipe is typical of highly evolved dairy noodle kugels, in that it is dessert-sweet and topped with corn flakes, although it doesn't call for the canned crushed pineapple that so many less refined recipes do. Here, the cottage cheese is pureed with the sour cream, milk, and eggs to form a silken custard to hold the noodles. Michael and I are not certain how his mother arrived at the odd amount of sour cream, but I have decided not to change it. It is called "birthday kugel" because his mother made it mainly for those celebratory occasions.

Called Jewish wontons or raviolis, kreplach are pasta dumplings, usually triangular in shape, filled with minced meat, onion-spiced potatoes, or cheese. Kreplach carries a lot of lofty symbolism; its triangular shape represents Judaism's three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Equally lofty: the Jewish momma who can roll her kreplach dough to optimum thinness (so that, according to Sam Levenson, "a tempting bit of their buried treasure should show through"). If the wrappers are not paper-thin, your kreplach will taste like "craplach." However, though we've included wrappers in this recipe, there's really no reason to knock yourself out making them. Just purchase wonton wrappers in a Chinese food store or supermarket, and making kreplach becomes a cinch. There's even a kosher brand called Nasoya, available in many supermarkets; look for it near the tofu.

"Each year we receive hundreds of reader requests for recipes from restaurants around the world. And this past year there was a clear favorite — cheesecake. One of the best we tested is from Zoom in Park City, Utah. Here's their delicious version. — The Editors
At the restaurant, this is served with roasted pears. The cake needs time to set up in the refrigerator overnight, so begin making it at least one day ahead.

_Topfenknodel_
A distant relative of mine, originally from the Polish-German-Czechoslovakian border area (previously part of the Austrian Empire), was an exceptional cook but refused to share her recipes, claiming that either the dish would not turn out as good as hers did, in which case she would be blamed, or it would be as good or better, in which case her own cooking skills would be diminished. Among her repertoire were light, slightly tangy cheese dumplings. No one, however, ever wrangled the real recipe from her. Fortunately, I found a number of cooperative cooks who were more than willing to share their recipes with me.
These popular dumplings are called _topfenknodel_ in Austria and Germany, _turos gomboc_ in Hungary, _syrove knedliky_ in Czech, and _kluski_ in Poland. _Topfen_, also called _quark_ in German, is a thick, slightly tangy central European curd cheese popular for making dumplings, spreads, and toppings. Since _topfen_ is generally unavailable in America, a little cream cheese is added to the pot cheese to approximate the original texture and flavor. You can substitute farmer cheese for the pot cheese, but first wrap it in several layers of paper towels, then let it drain for about 10 minutes to extract some of the excess moisture. Do not use cottage cheese, which contains too much liquid and is too firm. My grandmother served savory cheese dumplings on Shavuot as an appetizer, accompanied with sour cream or browned bread crumbs (2 cups fresh bread crumbs sautéed in 6 tablespoons butter until golden), or a sweetened version as dessert.

_**Editor's note:** The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Joan Nathan's book [](http://www.ecookbooks.com/products.html?affiliateID=16283&item=01347)_[The Foods of Israel Today](http://www.ecookbooks.com/products.html?affiliateID=16283&item=01347). _Nathan also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page._
_To read more about Nathan and Israeli cuisine, [click here.](/features/going_global/israeli/intro)_
I remember with pleasure the Turkish Spinach _burekas_ we ate every Friday morning when I worked in the Jerusalem municipality. The ritual was as follows: Simontov, the guard at the front door downstairs, would appear carrying a bronze tray with Turkish coffee and the heavenly, flaky pastries filled with spinach or cheese, called _filikas_ in Ladino. It is rare today to have such delicious _burekas,_ in Jerusalem or anywhere else in Israel. Most of the dough is commercially produced puff pastry, much thicker and less flaky than the homemade phyllo used to be. A few places, like Burekas Penzo in Tel Aviv (near Levinsky Street), which has been making the pastries by hand in the Turkish style for more than thirty years, produce a close second to those I remember from my days in Jerusalem. Various Ladino names like _bulemas_ and _boyos_ differentiate fillings and distinguish a Jewish _bureka_ from a Turkish one. If you can find the thick phyllo dough, that works well. Otherwise, try this. My fifteen-year-old makes and sells them for fifty cents a piece. They are great!

_**Editor's note:** The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Diane Kochilas's book [](http://www.amazon.com/Meze-Small-Plates-Savor-Mediterranean/dp/0688175112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236792140&sr=8-1)_[Meze: Small Plates to Savor and Share from the Mediterranean Table.](http://www.amazon.com/Meze-Small-Plates-Savor-Mediterranean/dp/0688175112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236792140&sr=8-1) _Kochilas also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
Onions, cheese, and yogurt pies abound in the north of Greece, especially in shepherds' communities where dairy products are daily staples. This recipe is culled from that tradition, but instead of preparing a whole sheet pan with homemade phyllo, I have reworked it to make it accessible and more in tune with the meze style of eating._

_(Topfenstrudel)_
_**Editor's note:** The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Rick Rodgers's book [](http://www.ecookbooks.com/products.html?affiliateID=16283&item=02609)_[Kaffeehaus: The Best Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague](http://www.ecookbooks.com/products.html?affiliateID=16283&item=02609). _Rodgers also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page._
_To read more about Austrian cooking, [click here.](/features/going_global/austrian/intro)_
Not every café has a full-time baker. At many, it's just Mama in the kitchen and often Mama doesn't feel like (or doesn't have enough counter space for) hand-pulling strudel dough. This classic recipe layers store-bought filo dough with a _Topfen_ filling in a pan to make a deep-dish dessert. Thanks to Gerda Hofer for this recipe.

The filling of these classic cheese blintzes gets its perfect consistency from a mix of cottage and farmer cheeses. The latter, a drier version of cottage cheese, is available at most supermarkets.
A simple blueberry sauce tops off the dish. If blueberries aren't in season, frozen berries can be substituted. Use unsweetened, and do not defrost them before combining with the sugar and cornstarch.